In the lead-up to the Aug. 24-25 2024 A.C.C.E.S.S. – Afro Caribbean Cultural Summerfest Surrey, also dubbed A.C.C.E.S.S”24, the organizer is being sued for allegedly not repaying an event planner for covering artist expenses during the 2022 extravaganza.
Musical-event consultant Susan Rault is suing festival organizers New Vision Music Society and New Vision Artist Management and Production Ltd. as well as principal Oliver Orlando Daley for allegedly not repaying her $52,980.78 in expenses that she claims Daley promised to pay back.
Daley told BIV this afternoon that he was unaware of the lawsuit until BIV alerted him in a phone call, and that he denies Rault’s claims.
None of Rault’s allegations in the lawsuit has been proven in court.
Daley said 2022 was the festival’s inaugural run, and that he and Rault each put in money to create the festival.
“I never asked Susan to do anything,” he said. “Susan was a part of our society. When we were doing the festival in the beginning, it was both of us.”
He said he and Rault never had a conversation about her providing a repayable loan.
“I put in a certain amount of money; she put in a certain amount of money,” he said.
In 2022, arts festivals across the world were recovering from the global lull in public music events during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many Metro Vancouver festivals continue to struggle, but survive, according to a BIV investigation earlier this year. The Vancouver International Jazz Festival, for example, continues to search for a title sponsor.
A 2022 City of Surrey report to council noted that “without the cultural grants funding for arts organizations in 2021, it is likely most of Surrey’s arts organizations would have faced a dire fiscal situation that would have forced them to cease operation and services altogether, possibly permanently.”
Daley said that his festival received those grants and that they were key to helping the event take place in 2022, 2023 and this year.
Rault claims that Daley advised her that “the defendants had temporarily exhausted their credit, by which they were funding the event’s expenses.”
Daley, Rault claims, “requested financial assistance from her and promised on [the defendants’] behalf to repay her immediately for any such assistance rendered, or when they were able to do so through grants received or otherwise, but in any event within a year."
Rault said in her Aug. 1 notice of civil claim filed in BC Supreme Court that she then paid $20,451 for airline tickets for performing artists to get to the festival. She also alleges that she paid $14,346.40 for artists’ accommodations in Surrey.
Another $8,884.41 went to artist fees and transportation and luggage charges, she claims.
There was also $7,613.49 for fuel, green room, office and hospitality supplies, parking charges, signage, equipment rentals and advertising costs, she claims.
Finally, Rault said in her claim that she paid $1,665.48 for an SUV rental for artist transportation.
“The agreement was made verbally,” Rault alleged.
She claims that she has demanded that the defendants repay her for her spending, but they have “neglected or refused to repay any of the loan advances.”
Daley said that some of the expenses that Rault listed were for festivals in other cities.
“She bought tickets for the Edmonton festival,” he said. “She bought tickets for the Ottawa festival. She bought, I think, a few tickets for this festival, that she was a part of .... I never asked. We never asked for any loan or anything like that. We both started this organization, this festival, together as partners.”
This year's event is slated to be held at Surrey's Civic Plaza.
The New Vision Music Society said on its website that its mission is to celebrate diversity, foster cultural understanding, and unite communities through the power of music.
"We strive to showcase a vibrant tapestry of musical traditions from around the world, providing a platform for artists to share their unique heritage, stories, and artistry with audiences of all backgrounds," it said.
